Copycat Panera Mac and Cheese

Prepare

1. I highly recommend shredding your cheese first and letting it sit at room temperature while you move ahead with the recipe. It will incorporate better into the sauce if the shredded cheese is closer to room temperature.

Boil pasta

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously, then boil pasta to al dente (according to package directions). Drain, drizzle with a little olive oil and set aside.

Make roux

1. Heat a large dutch oven (or very deep sided skillet) over MED heat. Once hot, add butter and melt. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

Make sauce

1. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking as you pour.  Then do the same with the heavy whipping cream.
2. Continue whisking and cooking over MED heat for about 3-4 minutes (until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon), then add salt, ground mustard, and black pepper.

Add cheese

1. Once the sauce is bubbling, reduce the heat to LOW.
2. Add the shredded cheese, about a cup at a time, stirring/whisking as you add the cheese. Continue until all the cheese is added and keep stirring until the cheese is completely melted into the sauce.

Combine and serve

1. Turn off the heat. Add the cooked and drained pasta to the sauce and stir well to coat. Let sit a few minutes to thicken and warm up the pasta, then serve hot (sprinkled with some extra pepper if you'd like).